Environmental Gradients, Not Geographic Boundaries, Structure Meiofaunal Communities in Siberian Seas
ABSTRACT Meiofauna (all invertebrates smaller than 1 mm) are not only sensitive to environmental changes but also contribute significantly to nutrient cycling and energy transfer to higher trophic levels. Despite their importance, meiofauna distribution and ecology in the Siberian seas remain unders...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Environmental DNA |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70124 |
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| author | Adele Maciute Elias Broman Francisco J. A. Nascimento Tommaso Tesi Evgeniy Yakushev Birgit Wild Elena Kirillova Igor Semiletov Örjan Gustafsson Stefano Bonaglia |
| author_facet | Adele Maciute Elias Broman Francisco J. A. Nascimento Tommaso Tesi Evgeniy Yakushev Birgit Wild Elena Kirillova Igor Semiletov Örjan Gustafsson Stefano Bonaglia |
| author_sort | Adele Maciute |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Meiofauna (all invertebrates smaller than 1 mm) are not only sensitive to environmental changes but also contribute significantly to nutrient cycling and energy transfer to higher trophic levels. Despite their importance, meiofauna distribution and ecology in the Siberian seas remain understudied. Here, we employ sediment environmental DNA metabarcoding to characterize meiofauna diversity across the unexplored Siberian seas. We show that meiofauna community structure is primarily driven by river discharge and coastal erosion, which are heavily influenced by climate change, rather than geographical distinctions between the seas. We observed higher meiofauna diversity in nearshore areas where river plumes promoted colonizer nematode communities that are resilient to disturbances. Yet, their dominance may lead to decreased ecosystem stability in the future. This study provides a valuable baseline for meiofauna diversity in remote Siberian seas undergoing rapid environmental change, which will be useful for assessing the future direction and pace of benthic ecological trajectories. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bf6fed0c5bbe465fbace2f4a8b946c06 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2637-4943 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental DNA |
| spelling | doaj-art-bf6fed0c5bbe465fbace2f4a8b946c062025-08-20T03:27:44ZengWileyEnvironmental DNA2637-49432025-05-0173n/an/a10.1002/edn3.70124Environmental Gradients, Not Geographic Boundaries, Structure Meiofaunal Communities in Siberian SeasAdele Maciute0Elias Broman1Francisco J. A. Nascimento2Tommaso Tesi3Evgeniy Yakushev4Birgit Wild5Elena Kirillova6Igor Semiletov7Örjan Gustafsson8Stefano Bonaglia9Department of Marine Sciences University of Gothenburg Gothenburg SwedenDepartment of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm SwedenDepartment of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm SwedenInstitute of Polar Sciences National Research Council Bologna ItalyNorwegian Institute for Water Research Oslo NorwayDepartment of Environmental Science Stockholm University Stockholm SwedenDepartment of Environmental Science Stockholm University Stockholm SwedenIl'ichov Pacific Oceanological Institute (POI), Far‐East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladivostok RussiaDepartment of Environmental Science Stockholm University Stockholm SwedenDepartment of Marine Sciences University of Gothenburg Gothenburg SwedenABSTRACT Meiofauna (all invertebrates smaller than 1 mm) are not only sensitive to environmental changes but also contribute significantly to nutrient cycling and energy transfer to higher trophic levels. Despite their importance, meiofauna distribution and ecology in the Siberian seas remain understudied. Here, we employ sediment environmental DNA metabarcoding to characterize meiofauna diversity across the unexplored Siberian seas. We show that meiofauna community structure is primarily driven by river discharge and coastal erosion, which are heavily influenced by climate change, rather than geographical distinctions between the seas. We observed higher meiofauna diversity in nearshore areas where river plumes promoted colonizer nematode communities that are resilient to disturbances. Yet, their dominance may lead to decreased ecosystem stability in the future. This study provides a valuable baseline for meiofauna diversity in remote Siberian seas undergoing rapid environmental change, which will be useful for assessing the future direction and pace of benthic ecological trajectories.https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70124Arcticbenthic invertebratesDNAerosionriver dischargesediment |
| spellingShingle | Adele Maciute Elias Broman Francisco J. A. Nascimento Tommaso Tesi Evgeniy Yakushev Birgit Wild Elena Kirillova Igor Semiletov Örjan Gustafsson Stefano Bonaglia Environmental Gradients, Not Geographic Boundaries, Structure Meiofaunal Communities in Siberian Seas Environmental DNA Arctic benthic invertebrates DNA erosion river discharge sediment |
| title | Environmental Gradients, Not Geographic Boundaries, Structure Meiofaunal Communities in Siberian Seas |
| title_full | Environmental Gradients, Not Geographic Boundaries, Structure Meiofaunal Communities in Siberian Seas |
| title_fullStr | Environmental Gradients, Not Geographic Boundaries, Structure Meiofaunal Communities in Siberian Seas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental Gradients, Not Geographic Boundaries, Structure Meiofaunal Communities in Siberian Seas |
| title_short | Environmental Gradients, Not Geographic Boundaries, Structure Meiofaunal Communities in Siberian Seas |
| title_sort | environmental gradients not geographic boundaries structure meiofaunal communities in siberian seas |
| topic | Arctic benthic invertebrates DNA erosion river discharge sediment |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70124 |
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